When Dhaval Lakshmi, a satellite-tagged female Olive Ridley turtle, was released off the Dahanu coast in late November, she began a long journey at sea. After earlier moving towards Gujarat, the turtle has now returned to Maharashtra waters and is currently in deep seas, about 715 km from Dahanu. Over the past week, satellite data shows she has been moving in a southwestward direction.

A team of researchers under the supervision of Dr Suresh Kumar, senior scientist at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), has been tracking the movement of Dhaval Lakshmi in coordination with Mangrove Cell and Dahanu Forest Division.